Wheeled cultivator.



PATENTED MAY 28, 1907.

J, MILLER. WHEELBD GULTIVATOR. APPLICATION FILED OUT-8. 1906.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1,

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No. 354,754. PATENTED MAY 28, 1907.

' J. E. MILLER.

. WHEELED GULTIVATOR. APPLIOATIQN FILED 00m. 1906.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

No. s54,754.- PATENTBD MAY 28, 1907.

. J. E. MILLER.

WHBELED CULTIVATOR.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 8. 1906.

4 SHEETS-SHEET s.

UNITED STATES PATENT @FFICE.

WHEELED CULTIVATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 28, 1907.

Application filed October 8, 1906. Serial No. 338,004.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN E. MILLER, a citizen of the United States,residing at WVestern Springs, in the county of Cook and State ofIllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in WheeledCultivators, of which the following is a specification, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to wheeled cultivators, and its object is toprovide a new and improved attachment to a wheeled cultivator by meansof which the dirt may be operated upon by a revolving agitator betweenthe shovel-blades and the corn in order to more completely pulverize andbreak up the dirt and throw part of it over toward the rows of corn.It-further tends to break down the weeds and remove them, thus insuringa better growth and more perfect cultivation.

In the drawings,-Figure 1 is a central vertical section through thecultivator on line 11 of Fig. 2 Fig. 2 is a front view, being a crosssection on line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on line 33of Fig. 1 Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail, showing the mechanism by whichmy improved agitator is secured to the shovel-beams; Fig. 5

is an enlarged detail, being a cross-section on line 55 of Fig. 4; Fig.6 is an enlarged detail, being a view of the inner side of one of thelocking plates by means of which the frame for the agitator is securedto the cultivator beam; Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail, being a view ofthe agitator and its connections partly in section; Fig. 8 is anenlarged detail, being an end view of the agitator Fig. 9 is a detail,being a view of the driving-shafts and the upper ends of the connectionsbetween the agitators and said driving shaft and Fig. 10 is an enlargeddetail, showing the sprocket and chain connections.

Referring to the drawings,10 represents the tongue, and 11 the frame ofa cultivator which rests upon a bent axle 12 supported by wheels 13.

14 indicates a seat, which is supported from suitable supports 15.

16 indicates the shovel-beams, and 17 the shovels of a cultivator.

19 indicates rods, which are connected at their lower ends to theshovel-beams and at their upper ends to bell-crank levers 20 mountedupon suitable supports 21 on the cultivator frame.

p; 22 indicates a link, which is pivotally connected at one end with thebell-crank lever 20 and at the other end with a mutilatedgear 23, whichis pivoted on the supports 21 and meshes with another mutilated gear 24also supported upon the supports 21.

25 indicates springs, which connect the bell-crank lever 20 and themutilated-gear 24.

All of the parts above described, as illustrated in the drawings, are ofwell-known structure and operation and form no part of my presentinvention. Indeed, other forms of wheeled cultivators may be used,theform illustrated in the drawings being shown for convenience ofillustration.

26 indicates a cross-beam secured to the lower side of the frame 11.

27 indicates castings, which are bolted. or otherwise secured to thecross-beam 26 and are provided upon their free ends with sleeves 28.

29 indicates shafts, which are journaled in the sleeves 28 and whichcarry upon their upper ends bevel-gears 30.

31 indicates frames, which are secured to and carried by the shovelbeams 16 by means of an arm 32 which is secured to the beams 16 in themanner hereinafter described. The forward portion 33 of the frame 31 isformed of tubing or is bored to permit the operation within it of aflexible shaft 34, the upper end of which is pinned or otherwisesuitably connected to a head 35 upon the lower end of the shaft 29.

36 indicates a rotatable agitator, which is journaled by a suitable stem37 in the lower rear portion of the frame 31. The stem 37 is pinned orin any other suitable way connected with the flexible shaft 34. Theagitator 36, as is best shown in Figs. 7 and 8, consists of a pluralityof knife-like blades 38 connecting by radial arms 39 with a head 40 intowhich the stem 37 is pinned or otherwise secured.

41 indicates a plate, which is preferably separate from the frame 31 andfills in the space in the frame to prevent the accumula tion andgathering of weeds on said frame.

The mechanism for supporting the frame 31 on the shovel-beams 16 is bestshown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6. .teferring to those figures, 42 indicates acircular plate, which is recessed, as is best shown in Figs. 4 and 5, toreceive the end of the arm 32 and is provided up on its outer surfacewith teeth 43. The arm 32 is provided with an expanded head 44, which isfor the greater part of its shape circular and rests within the recessin the plate 42,it

I that when the arm 32 is placed '11 on the bolt 45 and the outer plate47 place in position and the whole bolted together, the arm 32 will befirmly secured to the shovel beams,

allowing by virtue of the play of the arm 32in the recess of the plate42 a slight motion of the frame 31 independently of the rise and fall ofthe shovel beams.

As is best shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the frame is supported inside of theshovel beams in such a position that when the shovel beams are loweredto permit the plows to operate the agitator 36 lies close along thesurface of the ground. It is, of course, obvious that when the shovelbeams are raised or lowered by the arms shown in the drawings, or by anyother appropriate mechanism, the frame 31 and the agitator 38 will riseand fall with them with a slight play, as has been above described.

Referring particularly to Figs. 2, 9 and 10, Where these parts are bestshown, 48 indicates a shaft, which is j ournaled in suitable bearings 49on the rear of the cross-beam 26 and is provided with bevel-gears 50keyed or otherwise secured to the shaft, which mesh with the bevel-gears30 on the end of the shaft 29. 51 indicates a sprocket-wheel, which issecured to one end of the shaft 48 near one of the carrying-wheels 13.52 indicates a sprocket-wheel, which is secured to the hub 53 of one ofthe wheels 13 and upon the inside thereof in alinement with thesprocket-wheel 51. 54 indicates a sprocketchain, which connects thesprocket-wheels 51 and 52. In order to allow for the spring of thecultivator frame and of the bent axle 12, and preserve proper distances,the sprocketchain 54 passes over idler-rollers 55 which are mounted uponthe ends of an arm 56 secured to the bent axle 12.

The operation of the above-described devices is as follows :When theshovel beams are lowered to cultivate the corn and the frame 31, as hasbeen said, is lowered with up by the shovels,the agitator, as is bestshown in Fig. 3, lying just inside of the forward and inner shovels andbetween them and the row of corn to be cultivated. When the machine isdriven forward, the rotation of the carrying-wheels 13 rotates thesprocket wheel 52, and the rotation is communicated by thesprocket-chain 54 to the sprocketwheel 51, and thence to the shaft 48.By means of the bevel-gears 30 and 50 this rotation is communicated tothe shafts 29 and thence by means of the flexible shafts 34 to theagitators 36 which are thus caused to I'O'. tate rapidly in thedirection shown by arrows in Fig. 1,-that is to say, the blades rotatefrom the bottom of the agitator toward the corn. The agitators thusrotating will engage and break down weeds, which are not otherwisebroken down by the shovels, and at the same time will more completelybreak up the dirt and throw it over toward the corn.

I have shown and described my cultivator as used for cultivating corn,but of course it will be understood that it may be used for cultivatingother plants.

That which I claim as my invention and desire to secure by LettersPatent is,

1. In a wheeled cultivator, the combination with shovel-beams andshovels secured thereto, of a rotating agitator carried by saidshovel-beams and adapted to engage the ground between the shovels andthe corn and throw the dirt toward said corn, and means for rotatingsaid agitator.

2. In a wheeled cultivator, the combination with supporting-wheels,shovel-beams and shovels depending therefrom, of frames carried by saidshovel-beams, rotating agi tators journaled in said frames and adaptedto engage the ground between the shovels and the corn and throw the dirttoward said corn, and connections between said rotating agitators andsaid wheels adapted to rotate said agitators.

3. In a wheeled cultivator, the combination with supporting-wheels, ashovel-beam and shovels mounted thereon, a frame carried by saidshovel-beam, a rotatable agitator journaled in said frame and adapted toengage the ground-between the shovels and the corn, a flexible shaftjournaled in said .frame and connected with said agitator, and

connections between said flexible shaft and said supporting-wheelswhereby said agitator is rotated from said supporting-wheels.

JOHN E. MILLER. Witnesses:

MINNIE A. HUNTER, CHARLES E. PIOKARD.

